Sarko’s decision to stand again is ‘good news’ says France’s radical left

Nicolas Sarkozy’s announcement on French TV tonight that he would be standing in Presidential elections this April and May was ‘good news, as he can be beaten’ said Pierre Laurent, national secretary of the French Communist Party.

The widely expected decision will see Sarkozy face the Socialist’s Francois Hollande, currently ahead in the polls; leader of the far-right National Front party Marine Le Pen, who succeeded her father Jean-Marie Le Pen; two other right wingers – Francois Bayrou and former prime minister and Mr. Sarkozy’s arch rival Dominique de Villepin; progressive green Eva Joly; and Jean-Luc Melenchon of the Left Front (Front de Gauche).

The PCF, which forms part of the Left Front, dismissed Sarkozy’s promises on national TV tonight to let the French ‘have their say’ in this election , arguing that during his five year term, Sarkozy had ‘gagged parliament’, ‘despised people’ and ‘trampled on the majority of French.’

Laurent pointed out that on Sarkozy’s watch, the French had lost purchasing power and seen their retirement age increased, while immigrants and their families had been attacked and the unemployed had been ‘stigmatised’.

‘It’s time to present the bill to king of the Elysee Palace for his culpable weakness in the face of the power of money, for his incompetence over the financial crisis, for blindly aligning himself with the German Chancellor,’ said Laurent.

Martine Billard, co-president of the Left Party, also part of the Left Front, likened Sarkozy’s performance on TV to ‘a broken record.’

He said: ‘He’s run out of scams to fool the French and can only come up with the same disastrous policies.

Accusing Sarko of ‘pitting French people against each other,’ Billard said:

‘Nicolas Sarkozy will be beaten for his disastrous record for our country. The people’s France, French workers will send him packing, back to his friends in the oligarchy.’